System and Method for Playing Community Hand Poker Games

ABSTRACT

A card game with at least one player involves placing first and second poker hand wagers and dealing starting hands to the player and a dealer. A first poker rank is determined from a resulting poker hand of the player derived from cards including a first community hand and the player&#39;s starting hand. A first winning amount is paid on the first poker hand wager if the first poker rank meets a first winning criteria. A second poker rank is determined from a resulting poker hand of the player derived from cards including a second community hand and the player&#39;s same starting hand. A second winning amount is paid on the second poker hand wager if the second poker rank meets a second winning criteria.

This application is claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S.provisional application Ser. No. 60/867,113, filed Nov. 23, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to card games, and more particularly to amethod of playing a poker card game involving a poker hand wager by aplayer of the game and a hand of community cards used in determining anoutcome of the poker hand wager.

BACKGROUND

Card games, in particular poker card games are known to be enjoyed byvarious persons as a means for entertainment. One particular poker gamewhich is recently very popular involves players being dealt two cards ina player's hand for forming a poker hand rank with a plurality of faceup community cards shared by all of the players. Wagers are placed byeach player with the winner typically being the player with the bestpoker hand rank. Due to the popularity of such known poker games, it isdesirable to provide other similar games for players to enjoy, inparticular within casino environments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method ofplaying a card game with at least one player, comprising:

providing an opportunity to place a first poker hand wager by said atleast one player;

providing an opportunity to place a second poker hand wager by said atleast one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting handcomprising one or more cards representing a potential portion ofresulting poker hands;

dealing a first community hand;

determining a first poker rank from a first one of the resulting pokerhands of said at least one player derived from cards including the firstcommunity hand and at least one card from the player's starting hand;

paying a first winning amount on the first poker hand wager of said atleast one player if the first poker hand wager is placed and the firstpoker rank meets a first winning criteria;

dealing a second community hand;

determining a player second poker rank for a second one of the resultingpoker hands of said at least one player derived from cards including atleast one card from the player's starting hand and the second communityhand;

paying a second winning amount on the second poker hand wager of said atleast one player if the second poker hand wager is placed and the secondpoker rank meets a second winning criteria.

By providing a card game including both a first poker hand wager and asecond poker hand wager for comparison with two different communityhands, greater amusement is provided to the player as there is a greaterperception of a winning opportunity for the player. There is a furtheropportunity to provide amusement and entertainment to players bymodifying a traditional poker game including community hands where boththe player and dealer select cards in their respective hands from aplurality of cards before combining their hand with the community handto form a poker hand rank. The player's interactive experience with thegame is further enhanced when the dealer must select cards according topreset rules but where the player has the freedom to improve their oddsof winning by selecting cards according to a different strategy comparedto the dealer. When playing in a casino environment, the method of playat a poker table can be enhanced by providing indicia on the tablesurface which represents cards in the players starting hand so that theplayer can select a card to be discarded by simply contacting theindicia. This speeds up the game play as possible confusion of aplayer's opportunity to cheat or tamper with the cards is reduced.

When said at least one player comprises a plurality of players, themethod includes paying the first winning amount on the first poker handwager of each player if that player has placed the first poker handwager and the respective first poker rank of that player meets the firstwinning criteria and paying the second winning amount on the secondpoker hand wager of each player if that player has placed the secondpoker hand wager and the respective second poker rank of that playermeets the second winning criteria.

Preferably one of the first and second winning criteria comprises apoker hand which ranks below a low ranking designated poker rank and theother of the first and second winning criteria comprises a poker handwhich is higher than a high ranking designated poker rank. One of thedesignated poker ranks may comprise a poker rank of the hand of thedealer. Preferably the high ranking designated poker rank comprises apoker rank of the hand of the dealer.

Preferably the player is permitted to increase only one of the firstpoker hand wager or the second poker hand wager after receiving thestarting hand.

The player may receive an additional starting hand card and be permittedto discard one card from the starting hand prior to determining thepoker rank which is not associated with an increased wager.

The player is preferably only permitted to increase the poker hand wagerassociated with the winning criteria being a low ranking poker rankafter receipt of the starting hand but prior to dealing the firstcommunity hand.

Preferably the player is permitted to discard one card from the startinghand when determining only one of the first and second poker ranks ofthe player. In this instance, the player is not permitted to increaseone of the poker hand wagers which is associated with a poker rank wheresaid at least one player is permitted to discard one of the cards of thestarting hand of the player.

The first winning criteria may be that the first poker rank of theplayer comprises no cards which are equal in magnitude. Alternatively,the first winning criteria may be that the first poker rank of theplayer comprises no cards which are equal in magnitude and greater thana designated magnitude.

The first poker rank may be determined from a resulting poker hand ofthe player derived from all of the cards of the players starting hand.

Alternatively, the second poker rank may be determined from the player'sresulting poker hand derived from cards including a selected hand of theplayer in which at least one card from the starting hand has beendiscarded.

Preferably the first poker rank and the second poker rank are determinedusing at least one common card from the player's starting hand.

The method may include paying said at least one player an auxiliarywinning amount if one of the determined poker ranks equals one of aplurality of designated paying poker hand ranks.

The method may further include dealing a starting hand to the dealerrepresenting a potential portion of a resulting poker hand, determininga dealer poker rank for the dealers resulting poker hand derived fromcards including the second community hand and at least one card from thedealer's starting hand, and paying the second winning amount based onthe player's second poker rank exceeding the dealer poker rank.

Preferably each of the players and the dealer are permitted to discardone card from the starting hand to form a selected hand which iscombined with the community cards when determining the respective pokerranks.

When both the player and the dealer are dealt an equal number of cardsprior to a card selection being made, both the player and the dealer arepreferably permitted to select a same number of cards to be discarded.

Card selection by the dealer may be determined according to dealer rulesincluding categorizing the starting hand of the dealer into one of aplurality of dealer hand categories and selecting one card from thestarting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to a discardassociated with the respective dealer hand category in which the dealerhand categories comprise five categories distinct from one another.

The dealer categories preferably include: i) three cards matching inmagnitude and matching in suit, ii) three cards matching in magnitudeamong which only two match in suit, iii) three cards matching inmagnitude among which none match in suit, iv) only two cards matching inmagnitude, and v) no cards matching in magnitude.

The dealer rules may thus include: selecting a card to be discarded soas to keep cards which are paired over keeping cards matched in suit,selecting a card so as to keep cards which are paired over keeping cardswhich are in sequence, selecting a card so as to keep cards which arepaired over cards matching in suit and which are in sequence, selectinga card so as to keep cards which are paired regardless of a cardselection made by said at least one player, selecting a card so as tokeep cards which are paired over cards which are higher in magnitude,and selecting a card so as to keep cards which are highest in magnitudewhen no cards are paired.

According to one embodiment, selection of a card to be discarded fromthe player's starting hand is accomplished by the player selectingindicia on a table surface of the game in which the indicia representthe cards in the player's hand.

In alternative embodiments, the cards are held in the hand of the playerand card selection involves discarding a selected card from the cardsheld in the hand of the player.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided amethod of playing a card game with at least one player, comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

-   -   dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the        starting hand comprising a dealt number of cards representing a        potential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by said at least one player, a discard number of cards fromthe player's starting hand to define a selected hand of the playercomprising at least one card;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at leastone player derived from cards including the community hand and theplayer's selected hand;

-   -   dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising the dealt        number of cards representing a potential portion of a resulting        poker hand;

discarding by the dealer, the discard number of cards from the dealer'sstarting hand to define a selected hand of the dealer comprising atleast one card;

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker handderived from cards including the dealer's selected hand and thecommunity hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank ofsaid at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of playing a card game with at least one player,comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting handcomprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting pokerhand;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at leastone player derived from cards including the community hand and at leastone card from the player's starting hand;

dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising cards representing apotential portion of a resulting poker hand;

discarding by the dealer according to dealer rules, at least one cardfrom the dealer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the dealercomprising at least one card;

the dealer rules comprising categorizing the starting hand of the dealerinto one of a plurality of dealer hand categories and selecting one cardfrom the starting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to adiscard associated with the respective dealer hand category, the dealerhand categories comprising five categories distinct from one another.

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker handderived from cards including the dealer's selected hand and thecommunity hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank ofsaid at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of playing a card game on a table surface with at least oneplayer, the method comprising:

placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;

dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting handcomprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting pokerhand;

discarding by said at least one player, at least one card from theplayer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the playercomprising at least one card;

selection of said at least one card from the player's starting hand tobe discarded being accomplished by said at least one player selectingindicia on the table surface representing the cards in the player'sstarting hand;

dealing a community hand;

determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at leastone player derived from cards including the community hand and theplayer's selected hand;

dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising cards representing apotential portion of a resulting poker hand;

determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker handderived from cards including the community hand and at least one cardfrom the dealer's poker hand;

paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank ofsaid at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the method of playing a card gameaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a poker card table surface particularlysuited for playing a card game according to the method of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a method of playing a card game accordingto a further embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The card game according to the present invention is referred to hereinas Tennessee 2 Card Poker. There are some variations to the card game,but in each instance, the game initially begins with each of a pluralityof players deciding if they wish to play by placing bets at a first lowpoker hand wager location 12 and/or at a second high poker hand wagerlocation 14 on the playing surface of a poker table. The low wagerlocation 12 includes an area adjacent thereto for placing an optionalincreased or double-up wager, however the high wager location does notprovide an opportunity to increase the original bet.

In a first version of the card game, according to FIGS. 1 and 2, eachplayer must initially place an equal bet on both of the wager locations12 and 14 in order to play.

Dealing of the cards begins by the dealer dealing two cards to astarting hand location 16 for each player. The low wager is a wager thatthe player will not be able to form a ranking first poker rank with thestarting hand cards and a first set of community cards to be dealt tothe community card location 18 on the table. Upon viewing the startinghand cards, the player has the option of placing the double up wageradjacent the low wager location 12.

If the starting hand includes a pair, the first winning criteria of thefirst low poker hand wager has already not been met and accordinglycomparison of the cards with the community cards to form a first pokerhand rank is unnecessary. Provided that at least one player does nothave a pair of cards, the community cards are dealt to the communitycard location 18 by the dealer. Each player then determines a firstpoker rank resulting from a poker hand derived from cards including thefirst community hand and the cards in the players starting hand. If apair or any other higher ranking poker hand is formed in the playersfirst poker rank the first winning criteria is not met and the low wageris lost. The cards at the community card location can then be discarded.

Each player is then dealt a third card at a card selection location 20adjacent their starting hand cards 16 so that the cards form atriangular pattern. Three indicating markers 22 are located on the tablesurface in the same pattern as the cards at locations 16 and 20associated with each player so that the player may then select one ofthe three cards to be drawn by the dealer as a discard. Once the playerhas contacted one of the three markers the dealer removes the associatedcard from the players hand and places the two remaining cards back atthe starting hand location 16.

The dealer then draws three cards to a dealer starting hand location 24and similarly selects one of the three cards to be discarded. The dealeraccordingly is dealt the same number of cards overall as the player andalso discards the same number of cards as the player to result in a twocard selected hand of the dealer.

Discarding by the dealer is done according to dealer rules. The dealerrules generally comprise categorizing the starting hand of the dealerinto one of five dealer hand categories and selecting one card from thestarting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to a discardassociated with the determined dealer hand category.

The dealer then deals a second set of three community cards to thecommunity hand location 18. Each player and the dealer then determine arespective poker rank of the resulting poker hand derived from cardsincluding the second community cards dealt to location 18 and theresulting two cards in their hand which have been selected. If theplayers' second poker rank using the second community hand exceeds thedealer's poker rank, a second winning criteria is met and the player ispaid a winning amount on the second high poker hand wager at location 14on the table.

More particulars with regard to the particular rules of play will now bedescribed in the following.

Rules of Play

-   1. Tennessee 2 Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows    the Player to wager on two outcomes.    -   1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card        Low-rank poker hands.    -   1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands-   2. Tennessee 2 Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks    of playing cards (312 cards).-   3. All cards are distributed face up.-   4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the    Player initially places two equal wagers in the front two betting    spots:    -   4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)    -   4.2. Tennessee 2 (Left spot—red).-   5. Three additional spots will be positioned behind the betting    spots.    -   5.1. “1^(st)”, “3^(rd)”, & “2^(nd)” spots are used by the player        to indicate which card they wish to draw for the Tennessee 2        bet.

Lo-Hand Bet

-   6. Each Player receives two cards-   7. All hands that are pairs automatically lose the Lo-Hand bet.    -   7.1. Note: If there are no Lo-Hand bet wagers left, the Dealer        will proceed to step 14.-   8. Upon viewing their original two cards, the remaining players with    Lo-Hand bets are given the option of doubling their Lo-Hand bets by    posting an equal amount in the betting spot behind it.-   9. After each of the players with live Lo-Hand bets has exercised    their options to “Double-Up”, the dealer will announce “Double Up    closed”.-   10. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the    center of the layout.-   11. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community    cards, the player will win providing there are not any pairs, two    pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, full houses, 4-of-a-kinds, or 5-of-a-kinds.-   12. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card    value    -   12.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets    -   12.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights & flushes        which are not considered)

High Card Pays K to 10 1 to 1 9 or 8 2 to 1 7 3 to 1 6 5 to 1 5 10 to 1 

Tennessee 2 Bet

-   13. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will    discard the three community cards.-   14. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide the front    card over so that it is parallel to the first card.-   15. A third card is drawn to the area between the two cards forming    a “V′” shape.-   16. Using the designated “1^(st)”, “2^(nd)”, or “3^(rd)” spots    behind the bets, the player will indicate which card he wishes to    draw and the dealer will place that card face down in the middle of    the table.-   17. Each hand will be played accordingly, until all hands have two    cards once again.-   18. The dealer will then discard all of the player's drawn cards.-   19. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the    Tennessee 2 Strategy, will draw one of the cards.-   20. The dealer will discard the drawn card and slide the remaining    two cards toward him.-   21. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three    more community cards.-   22. Each player hand will be compared to the dealer hand and each    bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher than the dealer's    hand.-   23. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.    -   23.1 Hands are considered ties only when hand rank and card        values are identical. When both hands are the same hand rank,        the individual card values will determine the winner based on        high card(s) per normal poker hand ranking.-   24. Note: Hands rank as follows:    -   24.1. Straight Flush        -   24.1.1. Note A-2-3-4-5 is lowest    -   24.2. 5-of-a-kind    -   24.3. 4-of-a-kind    -   24.4. Full-House    -   24.5. Flush        -   24.5.1. Note: Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher            hand is made    -   24.6. Straight        -   24.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is lowest    -   24.7. 3-of-a-kind    -   24.8. 2 pair    -   24.9. Pair    -   24.10. High card-   25. Note: Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is made

Tennessee 2 Strategy - (House Way) 26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited) Drawany 27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited) Draw unsuited 28. Three-of-a-kind(Unsuited) Draw 1^(st) card on dealer's right 29. Pair Draw odd card 30.No-pair Draw lowest card

Tennessee 2 Bet Bonus Table (Optional)

-   31. Player's five card hand is an automatic winner and is paid at    odds if it qualifies as one of the following:

Hand Bonus Pays Five-of-a-kind (Suited) 1000 to 1 Straight Flush  100 to1 Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)  50 to 1 4-of-a-Kind   5 to 1

According to a second embodiment of the card game, each player begins bychoosing to place an independent bet on either one of the high or lowhand wager locations 12 and 14 in order to play, but the game is playedon a similar table with indicia as shown in FIG. 2. The rules of playaccording to the second embodiment will now be described in thefollowing:

-   1. Tennessee Two Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows    the Player to wager on two outcomes.    -   1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card        Low-rank poker hands.    -   1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands-   2. Tennessee Two Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks    of playing cards (312 cards).-   3. All cards are distributed face up.-   4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the    Player initially places two wagers in the front two betting spots:    -   4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)    -   4.2. Tennessee Two (Left spot—red).-   5. Three additional spots called “card silhouettes” will be    positioned behind the betting spots.    -   5.1. Card silhouettes are used by the player to indicate which        card they wish to draw for the Tennessee Two bet.-   6. Players are not restricted to one spot and are encouraged to play    multiple Tennessee Two Card Poker and Lo-Hand spots.

How the Game is Played Lo-Hand Bet

-   7. Each Player receives two cards face up and overlapped, as in    blackjack.-   8. All two card hands that are pairs automatically lose the Lo-Hand    bet.    -   8.1. Note: If there are no Lo-Hand bet wagers left, the Dealer        will proceed to step 15.-   9. Upon viewing their original two cards, the remaining players with    Lo-Hand bets are given the option of “raising” their Lo-Hand bets by    posting an equal amount in the second yellow betting spot    immediately behind the first wager.-   10. After each of the players with live Lo-Hand bets have exercised    the option to “raise”, the dealer will announce “No more raises”.-   11. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the    center of the layout.-   12. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community    cards, the player will win providing his hand does not contain two    cards equal in rank.-   13. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card    value    -   13.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets    -   13.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights &        flushes, which are not considered)

High Card Pays K to 10 1 to 1 9 or 8 2 to 1 7 4 to 1 6 7 to 1 5 15 to 1 

Tennessee Two Bet

-   14. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will    discard the three community cards.-   15. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide the front    card over so that it is parallel to the first card.-   16. A third card is drawn to the area between the two cards forming    a “V′” shape.-   17. Using the designated card silhouettes behind the bets, the    player will indicate which card he wishes to discard and the dealer    will place that card face down in the middle of the table.-   18. Each hand will be played accordingly, until all hands have two    cards once again.-   19. The dealer will then place all of the player's discarded cards    into the discard rack.-   20. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the    Tennessee Two Strategy, will discard one of these three cards.-   21. The dealer will place the discarded card into the rack and slide    the remaining two cards toward him.-   22. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three    more community cards.-   23. Each player's 5 card hand will be compared to the dealer's 5    card hand and each T2 bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher    than the dealer's hand.-   24. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.    -   24.1. Hands are considered ties only when “Hand Rank” and card        values are identical. When both hands are the same Hand Rank,        the individual card values will determine the winner based on        high card(s) per normal poker hand rankings.-   25. Hands Rank as follows:    -   25.1. Straight Flush        -   25.1.1. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight Flush    -   25.2. 5 of a Kind    -   25.3. 4-of-a-kind    -   25.4. Full-House    -   25.5. Flush        -   25.5.1. Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is            made        -   25.5.2. The higher flush is determined by high card,            regardless of pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, etc.    -   25.6. Straight        -   25.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight    -   25.7. 3-of-a-kind    -   25.8. 2 pair    -   25.9. Pair    -   25.10. High card

Tennessee Two Strategy - (House Way) 26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited)Discard any 27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited) Discard unsuited 28.Three-of-a-kind (Unsuited) Discard 1^(st) card on dealer's right 29.Pair Discard odd card 30. No-pair Discard lowest card

Tennessee Two Bonus Table (Optional)

-   31. Player's five card hand automatically wins the original bet and    is paid an additional bonus if it qualifies as one of the following:

Hand Additional Bonus Five-of-a-kind (Suited) 1000 × Wager StraightFlush  100 × Wager Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)  20 × Wager 4-of-a-Kind   1× Wager

-   32. The Casino may elect to post an aggregate maximum payoff for    these outcomes.

In a third embodiment of the card game, as represented in FIG. 3, thegame play is similar to the second embodiment noted above, but the cardsare held in the hand's of the player so that card selection involvesdiscarding cards from the hands of the player instead of using tableindicia as described above. The rules of play according to the thirdembodiment will now be described in the following:

-   1. Tennessee Two Card Poker is a House banked table game that allows    the Player to wager on two outcomes.    -   1.1. The first outcome is based on the ranking of 5 card        Low-rank poker hands.    -   1.2. The second bet is based on 5 card High-rank poker hands-   2. Tennessee Two Card Poker is played using 6 standard 52 card decks    of playing cards (312 cards).-   3. All cards are distributed face down to the player.-   4. Each betting area will have three betting spots in which the    Player initially places two wagers in the front two betting spots:    -   4.1. Lo-Hand (Right front spot—yellow)    -   4.2. Tennessee Two (Left spot—red).-   5. Players are not restricted to one spot and are encouraged to play    multiple Tennessee Two Card Poker and Lo-Hand spots (House rules for    handling cards may apply).

How the Game is Played Lo-Hand Bet

-   6. The Dealer will slide each Player two cards face down.    -   6.1. If there are no Lo-Hand bets, the Dealer will go to        procedure 14-   7. Upon viewing their original two cards, the players are given the    option of “raising” their Lo-Hand bets by posting an equal amount in    the second yellow betting spot immediately behind the first wager.    -   7.1. If the player's two cards are a pair, the Lo-Hand is an        automatic loss, so the player may turn them over and relinquish        the wager. The Dealer will spread them out in front of the        betting area.-   8. After each of the players with LO-Hand bets have exercised the    option to “raise”, they will tuck their cards beside the Lo-Hand    betting spot.    -   8.1. Once cards are tucked, they must remain tucked until the        Lo-Hand is played out.-   9. The dealer will draw three community cards and place them in the    center of the layout.-   10. Starting with the first hand on the Dealer's right, the dealer    will turn over the player's two cards and fan them out in front of    the betting area.-   11. Based on the player's initial two cards and the three community    cards, the player will win providing his hand does not contain two    cards equal in rank.-   12. Each winning hand will be paid according to the its highest card    value    -   12.1. Aces are counted as low for the Lo-Hand bets    -   12.2. All hands over no-pair lose (excluding straights &        flushes, which are not considered)

High Card Pays K to 10 1 to 1 9 or 8 2 to 1 7 4 to 1 6 7 to 1 5 15 to 1 

Tennessee Two Bet

-   13. Once all of the Lo-Hand bets are resolved, the Dealer will    discard the three community cards.-   14. Starting with the first hand, the dealer will slide a third card    so that it is in front of the first two cards.    -   14.1. If the two cards are face up, the dealer will turn them        over and place them on top of the third card.-   15. All three cards are then handed back to each of the players.-   16. Each player will discard one of the three cards by tossing it in    front of the betting area.-   17. The player will tuck the remaining two cards next to the    Tennessee Two betting spot.    -   17.1. Once cards are tucked, they must remain tucked until the        Tennessee Two Bet is played out.-   18. The dealer will then place all of the player's discarded cards    into the discard rack.-   19. The dealer will then draw three cards and, based on the    Tennessee Two Strategy, will discard one of these three cards.-   20. The dealer will place the discarded card into the rack and slide    the remaining two cards toward him.-   21. In area above the two cards, the dealer will then draw three    more community cards.-   22. Starting with the first hand on the Dealer's right, the Dealer    will turn over the player's two cards.-   23. Each player's 5 card hand comprised of his two cards and the    three community cards will be compared to the dealer's 5 card hand    comprised of the Dealer's two cards and the three community cards    and each T2 bet will be paid 1 to 1 if its hand is higher than the    dealer's hand.-   24. In the event of a tie, the dealers hand will win.    -   24.1. Hands are considered ties only when “Hand Rank” and card        values are identical. When both hands are the same Hand Rank,        the individual card values will determine the winner based on        high card(s) per normal poker hand rankings.-   25. Hands Rank as follows:    -   25.1. Straight Flush        -   25.1.1. A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight Flush    -   25.2. 5 of a Kind    -   25.3. 4-of-a-kind    -   25.4. Full-House    -   25.5. Flush        -   25.5.1. Flushes are deemed insignificant if a higher hand is            made        -   25.5.2. The higher flush is determined by high card,            regardless of pairs, 3-of-a-kinds, etc.    -   25.6. Straight        -   25.6.1. Note: A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest Straight    -   25.7. 3-of-a-kind    -   25.8. 2 pair    -   25.9. Pair    -   25.10. High card

Tennessee Two Strategy - (House Way) 26. Three-of-a-kind (All Suited)Discard any 27. Three-of-a-kind (2 suited) Discard unsuited 28.Three-of-a-kind (Unsuited) Discard 1^(st) card on dealer's right 29.Pair Discard odd card 30. No-pair Discard lowest card

Tennessee Two Bonus Table (Optional)

-   31. Player's five card hand automatically wins the original bet and    is paid an additional bonus if it qualifies as one of the following:

Hand Additional Bonus Five-of-a-kind (Suited) 1000 × Wager StraightFlush  100 × Wager Five-of-a-kind (Unsuited)  20 × Wager 4-of-a-Kind   1× Wager

-   32. The Casino may elect to post an aggregate maximum payoff for    these outcomes.

In yet further embodiments, the first and second winning criteria may bevaried. When the winning criteria comprises a low poker hand rank, thepoker hand of the player may be required to be lower than a designatedpoker hand, for example a pair, a pair of a certain magnitude, someother designated poker hand rank, or a poker hand rank of the hand ofthe dealer. Similarly, when the winning criteria comprises a high pokerhand rank, the poker hand of the player may be required to be higherthan a designated poker hand, for example a pair of a certain magnitude,three of a kind, some other designated poker hand rank, or a rank of apoker hand of the dealer.

In practice, the game described herein can be played usual actual cardson a poker table surface, or alternatively, virtual cards may bedisplayed on a suitable display monitor in an electronic version of thegame. The steps of dealing the cards and wagering remain identicalregardless of the use of actual or virtual cards. In each instance, theequivalent of a plurality of decks are used. Furthermore, in eachinstance a low ranking poker hand is generally understood to comprise anunranked poker hand or a poker hand having a rank which is among thelower ranks of a conventional poker hand ranking system. Similarly, ahigh ranking poker hand is generally understood to comprise a poker handhaving a rank which is among the upper ranks of a conventional pokerhand ranking system, or which is better than the ranks of other playersor the dealer in any given round of play. In the event that a player'shand and a dealer's hand have the same rank, the hand having cards whichare greater in magnitude will be considered higher in rank according toconventional poker ranking rules for purposes of determining if the highpoker hand wager should be paid the second winning amount.

Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein abovedescribed, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same madewithin the spirit and scope of the claims without department from suchspirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in theaccompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only andnot in a limiting sense.

1. A method of playing a card game with at least one player, comprising:providing an opportunity to place a first poker hand wager by said atleast one player; providing an opportunity to place a second poker handwager by said at least one player; dealing a starting hand to said atleast one player, the starting hand comprising one or more cardsrepresenting a potential portion of resulting poker hands; dealing afirst community hand; determining a first poker rank from a first one ofthe resulting poker hands of said at least one player derived from cardsincluding the first community hand and at least one card from theplayer's starting hand; paying a first winning amount on the first pokerhand wager of said at least one player if the first poker hand wager isplaced and the first poker rank meets a first winning criteria; dealinga second community hand; determining a player second poker rank for asecond one of the resulting poker hands of said at least one playerderived from cards including at least one card from the player'sstarting hand and the second community hand; paying a second winningamount on the second poker hand wager of said at least one player if thesecond poker hand wager is placed and the second poker rank meets asecond winning criteria.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein saidat least one player comprises a plurality of players and wherein themethod includes paying the first winning amount on the first poker handwager of each player if that player has placed the first poker handwager and the respective first poker rank of that player meets the firstwinning criteria and paying the second winning amount on the secondpoker hand wager of each player if that player has placed the secondpoker hand wager and the respective second poker rank of that playermeets the second winning criteria.
 3. The method according to claim 1wherein one of the first and second winning criteria comprises a pokerhand which ranks below a low ranking designated poker rank and the otherof the first and second winning criteria comprises a poker hand which ishigher than a high ranking designated poker rank.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 3 wherein the method includes dealing a hand to adealer and one of the designated poker ranks comprises a poker rank ofthe hand of the dealer.
 5. The method according to claim 3 wherein themethod includes dealing a hand to a dealer and the high rankingdesignated poker rank comprises a poker rank of the hand of the dealer.6. The method according to claim 1 wherein said at least one player ispermitted to increase only one of the first poker hand wager or thesecond poker hand wager after receiving the starting hand.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 6 wherein said at least one player receives anadditional starting hand card and is permitted to discard one card fromthe starting hand prior to determining the poker rank which is notassociated with an increased wager.
 8. The method according to claim 3wherein said at least one player is permitted to increase the poker handwager associated with the winning criteria being a low ranking pokerrank.
 9. The method according to claim 1 wherein said at least oneplayer is permitted to increase the first poker hand wager after receiptof the starting hand but prior to dealing the first community hand. 10.The method according to claim 1 wherein said at least one player ispermitted to discard one card from the starting hand when determiningonly one of the first and second poker ranks of the player.
 11. Themethod according to claim 1 wherein said at least one player is notpermitted to increase one of the poker hand wagers which is associatedwith a poker rank where said at least one player is permitted to discardone of the cards of the starting hand of the player.
 12. The methodaccording to claim 1 wherein the first winning criteria is that thefirst poker rank of the player comprises no cards which are equal inmagnitude.
 13. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first winningcriteria is that the first poker rank of the player comprises no cardswhich are equal in magnitude and greater than a designated magnitude.14. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first poker rank isdetermined from a resulting poker hand of the player derived from all ofthe cards of the players starting hand.
 15. The method according toclaim 1 wherein the second poker rank is determined from the player'sresulting poker hand derived from cards including a selected hand of theplayer in which at least one card from the starting hand has beendiscarded.
 16. The method according to claim 1 wherein the first pokerrank and the second poker rank are determined using at least one commoncard from the player's starting hand.
 17. The method according to claim1 including paying said at least one player an auxiliary winning amountif one of the determined poker ranks equals one of a plurality ofdesignated paying poker hand ranks.
 18. The method according to claim 1including dealing a starting hand to the dealer representing a potentialportion of a resulting poker hand, determining a dealer poker rank forthe dealers resulting poker hand derived from cards including the secondcommunity hand and at least one card from the dealer's starting hand,and paying the second winning amount based on the player's second pokerrank exceeding the dealer poker rank.
 19. The method according to claim18 in which each of the players and the dealer are permitted to discardone card from the starting hand to form a selected hand which iscombined with the community cards when determining the respective pokerranks.
 20. The method according to claim 19 wherein both the player andthe dealer are dealt an equal number of cards prior to a card selectionbeing made and wherein both the player and the dealer are permitted toselect a same number of cards to be discarded.
 21. The method accordingto claim 19 wherein card selection by the dealer is determined accordingto dealer rules including categorizing the starting hand of the dealerinto one of a plurality of dealer hand categories and selecting one cardfrom the starting hand of the dealer to be discarded corresponding to adiscard associated with the respective dealer hand category, the dealerhand categories comprising five categories distinct from one another.22. The method according to claim 19 wherein selection of a card to bediscarded from the players starting hand being accomplished by theplayer selecting indicia on a table surface of the game in which theindicia represent the cards in the players hand.
 23. A method of playinga card game with at least one player, comprising: placing a poker handwager by said at least one player; dealing a starting hand to said atleast one player, the starting hand comprising a dealt number of cardsrepresenting a potential portion of a resulting poker hand; discardingby said at least one player, a discard number of cards from the player'sstarting hand to define a selected hand of the player comprising atleast one card; dealing a community hand; determining a poker rank fromthe resulting poker hand of said at least one player derived from cardsincluding the community hand and the player's selected hand; dealing astarting hand to the dealer comprising the dealt number of cardsrepresenting a potential portion of a resulting poker hand; discardingby the dealer, the discard number of cards from the dealer's startinghand to define a selected hand of the dealer comprising at least onecard; determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting pokerhand derived from cards including the dealer's selected hand and thecommunity hand; paying a winning amount on the poker hand wager if thepoker rank of said at least one player beats the dealer poker hand rank.24. A method of playing a card game with at least one player,comprising: placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player;dealing a starting hand to said at least one player, the starting handcomprising cards representing a potential portion of a resulting pokerhand; dealing a community hand; determining a poker rank from theresulting poker hand of said at least one player derived from cardsincluding the community hand and at least one card from the player'sstarting hand; dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprising cardsrepresenting a potential portion of a resulting poker hand; discardingby the dealer according to dealer rules, at least one card from thedealer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the dealercomprising at least one card; the dealer rules comprising categorizingthe starting hand of the dealer into one of a plurality of dealer handcategories and selecting one card from the starting hand of the dealerto be discarded corresponding to a discard associated with therespective dealer hand category, the dealer hand categories comprisingfive categories distinct from one another. determining a dealer pokerrank for the dealer's resulting poker hand derived from cards includingthe dealer's selected hand and the community hand; paying a winningamount on the poker hand wager if the poker rank of said at least oneplayer beats the dealer poker hand rank.
 25. A method of playing a cardgame on a table surface with at least one player, the method comprising:placing a poker hand wager by said at least one player; dealing astarting hand to said at least one player, the starting hand comprisingcards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;discarding by said at least one player, at least one card from theplayer's starting hand to define a selected hand of the playercomprising at least one card; selection of said at least one card fromthe player's starting hand to be discarded being accomplished by said atleast one player selecting indicia on the table surface representing thecards in the player's starting hand; dealing a community hand;determining a poker rank from the resulting poker hand of said at leastone player derived from cards including the community hand and theplayer's selected hand; dealing a starting hand to the dealer comprisingcards representing a potential portion of a resulting poker hand;determining a dealer poker rank for the dealer's resulting poker handderived from cards including the community hand and at least one cardfrom the dealer's poker hand; paying a winning amount on the poker handwager if the poker rank of said at least one player beats the dealerpoker hand rank.